Summertime Carnegie Museum Wedding

Natalie and Chris just CLICK. They click with eachother, and they click with everyone they meet. Me included! After our phone consultation, I had the BEST feeling that they would book with me and I’m so glad I was right! We share some exceptional moments together, from their engagement session at The Frick Mansion, to their completely wonderful wedding weekend. I was truly sad to see it ‘end’ — Enjoy a glimpse into their day. It’s pretty perfect!

What was your inspiration behind your Summertime Carnegie Museum Wedding?

Our vision was “timeless and elegant”. We loved the timeless grandeur of the museum and wanted to make sure our decisions fit with that vibe as much as possible. With the help of our wedding planner, we did incorporate some unique elements that still made our wedding feel like “us” but didn’t deviate too much from our vision. For example, we met at run club so we wanted to somehow page homage to that, so we chose to make our escort cards magnetic race bibs that, when removed, revealed a black-and-white photo of us running behind them. We viewed it almost as a photography display that fit in with the museum for sure! 

Advice to share with brides planning now?

Keep the comparing your wedding to other couples’ weddings to a minimum. That is so much easier said than done, I realize! But keep the Pinterest-scrolling and Instagram-browsing to “just” enough to get ideas but without getting overwhelmed or caught up in what other people did.

All About that Bass: Ceremony entrance song? First dance song?

For our ceremony, our family members and bridal party entered to “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” because it was one of my late grandmother’s favorite pieces of music, so I grew up listening to it all the time. For my bridal processional, I chose “The Prince of Denmark’s March” because that was what my mom entered to at her wedding (and we had a fabulous trumpeter that I wanted to highlight!) My husband and I entered our reception to the intro of our upbeat first dance song, which was “Everlasting Love” by Love Affair and then just went right into our dance from there. We took dance lessons in Houston so we had a BLAST with our dance! 

How did you and your spouse meet?

Run club! We met at the Short North Run Club in Columbus, Ohio in August 2017. I had just moved there for medical school and my now-husband had been living there already for a year. We met at my first run and spent the first several months just getting to know each other as we logged miles together. We started dating about six months later and the rest is history. Running still plays a huge role in our lives, so our wedding featured several nods to us being “in it for the long run”. 

Proposal Details! How did it happen? 🙂

Chris proposed to me in Georgetown, Washington, D.C in May 2022. We had a lovely brunch in Georgetown that morning and then he said we were going to “go meet his sister” who was at a restaurant nearby (I did recognize, though, that we were taking “quite” a roundabout way of getting there). We were walking down the C&O Canal near a particularly scenic spot. I actually pulled out my phone to take a picture, and when I turned around, he was getting down on one knee! He chose that spot since it’s a running trail (and we met at run club) that connects our two hometowns of Pittsburgh (for me) and DC (for him). I said yes (of course!) and then I saw his sister and another one of his friends coming out from around the corner, as they had been on photographer duty for us to document the event. We all went back to that friend’s apartment for a surprise engagement party with family afterwards. 

Summertime Carnegie Museum Wedding Vendors

Photography: Steven Dray Photography

Ceremony: Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church

Reception: Carnegie Museum of Art

Event Planner: Hello Productions, Christina McLachlan

Florist:Community Flower Shop

Wedding Dress Designer: Madi Lane

What was the wedding shopping experience like for you?

I went to four different bridal salons here in Houston (where my now-husband and I live) with my mom and my best friend, who was my maid of honor. We honestly had such a fun weekend bopping around to different stores, and I found several dresses I liked well enough at each place. But then at our very last stop, I chose this one shoulder dress kind of on a whim as my penultimate dress and I immediately fell in love with it. It was plain (no beading, no lace) like I wanted but still had an interesting element with a chic cape/train that came from the shoulder. 

What was your favorite memory from your Summertime Carnegie Museum Wedding?

I absolutely loved our ceremony. Our pastor gave such a personal, thoughtful sermon, and we also had one of our amazing choir members do a solo of “The Prayer”. I was intentional about focusing only on my husband-to-be and the pastor, and so even though the church was filled with people, I felt it was still an intimate moment just between us. 

Wedding Dress Style:

One shoulder with detachable cape/train from the shoulder, fit-to-flare, solid crepe without lace or beading

Wedding Dress BoutiqueBelle Ame Bridal (Houston, Texas)

Hairstylist Name:Kara Burnell from Simply Captivating

Make-up Artist Name:Cari Thrower from Glam To Go

Accessory Information:Veil (made custom for me at Clarissa Boutique), earrings (also from Clarissa), and bracelets worn by my late grandmother and late aunt

Bride’s Shoe Designer:Jimmy Choo

Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer:Birdy Grey

Groom Attire Designer:Tom James

Groom Ring Designer:Christian Bauer

Videographer Company/Name:Dorosh Documentaries

Paper Goods Company:Party Papers

Calligrapher Company/Name:Alexa Miller Design (calligraphy for welcome sign)

Catering Company/Name:Cullinaire

Entertainment:CTO Park Central Band

Bakery/Cake Baker Information:Tasty Bakery for cupcakes, Cullinaire (CMoA’s caterer) for additional hand-held desserts for our dessert display

Linen Rental Company:Mosaic

Furniture Rentals:All Occasion Party Rentals (bars and all of the “extras” like charger plates and water glasses)